A Letter from Martin A. Sklar
February 10th, 2000

Dear Mr. Addison:

I have received your letter regarding your "Save
the Carousel" campaign, and am also aware that you have
written Paul Pressler and others about the same subject.

On the one hand - having written material for every
version of the Carousel of Progress and supervised the
recordings of Rex Allen for his role as "Father" -
I can appreciate your sentimentality. On the other hand, I am
also well aware that attendance at the Carousel has been in a
constant decline for a number of years. The fact is that
today's guests at our Disney Parks prefer other forms of
storytelling, and not all of them are "thrill
rides."

Although we have looked at other options for use of
the Carousel building (as we have at Disneyland), we have no
plans at the moment to replace or close the Carousel at the
Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom. However, I must underscore
the fact that we are following history begun in the earliest
days of Disneyland by Walt Disney when we evaluate replacing
attractions. Walt started doing that almost immediately, and
not all the attractions he replaced were
"unpopular," or did not work for one reason or
another. In fact, attractions like the Viewliner train and
Midget Autopia were very popular, especially with young
visitors. (Walt also tore down one of my personal favorites,
The Chicken Plantation Restaraunt along the Rivers of America
in Frontierland to build New Orleans Square in Disneyland;
and later we removed the popular Rainbow Caverns Mine Train
to build Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.)

Forms of entertainment change, sometimes dramatically,
over time. What appealed and communicated to an audience in
the 1960's does not necessarily work in the year 2000. For
example, most of us would be bored to tears with the pace of
1960's television shows and would "zap!" 1960's
style commercials even faster today than we did 30-some years
ago. Our shows and storytelling devices must be as relevant
in the 21st century as Walt's were in the 20th century.

I apologize for being so long-winded with this
response. No one, except my colleague John Hench, now in his
62nd year at Disney - he designed the Carousel buildings for
both Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom - has a longer and more
involving connection with the Carousel. I was responsible for
"selling" G.E. on moving the show from the New York
World's fair to Disneyland, and then to Walt Disney World;
and working with Dick and Bob Sherman on the music, Marc
Davis and John Hench on the scene vignettes, Claude Coats on
the layout and production, and Wathel Rogers on the figure
programming was like spending everyday at a Disney Legends
convention.

But, Mr. Addison, if the time comes when we have the
need, a "better idea," and the funding, I will be
the first in line to change out the Carousel. And I will shed
many tears at its demise.

Sincerely,

Martin A. Sklar

This letter shows that there are, in fact, people who care
about Walt Disney and his legacy who work for Disney. But
remember, we are not disputing the closing of all older
rides. I personally am not as moved by the notion of removing
Horizons, The Great Movie Ride, or 20,000 Leagues. The fact
that the Carousel has such an educational theme behind it;
that is is the only attraction in which the original
content has been seen at the World's Fair, Disneyland, and
Walt Disney World; and that it was one of Walt's favorite
ideas or attractions is what leads me to believe that he
would want it to remain forever. How wonderful it would be to
have an attraction, one that can be traced so far back into
our country's history, around for future generations.

We here at Save the Carousel thank Mr. Sklar for
the valuable time and thoughtfulness that he put into this
response.